The Unknown World
by WithHonors
Summary: What if Elena and Jeremy had an older sister from the beginning? Set from the pilot until the recent episodes. Amber struggles to fit back into the life she left when she ran from town after her parents' deaths. She fights to maintain her relationship with her siblings and aunt Jenna after abandoning them for the summer to deal with the deaths on her own.


Amber awoke to the unfamiliar scent of bacon and coffee, a rarity in their house. The only reason her aunt Jenna had made it was to celebrate the first day of school. She glanced over at her alarm clock, noticing the time. _Shit,_ she thought to herself as she jumped from her bed, sprinting to the bathroom. She quickly brushed her teeth and threw her hair into a ponytail, slipping on a bit of mascara and running back into her room. She slipped on a tight black shirt and her favorite skinny jeans, grabbing her leather jacket from the chair by her desk. She slipped into her black combat boots and sprinted down the stairs.

Jeremy and Elena sat at the table, sipping coffee and discussing the first day with Jenna. Elena reminded Jenna of her presentation today and she freaked. Amber glanced quickly at the television, noticing a missing person's report. She grabbed her bag off the table and snatched a bagel out of Jenna's hand, running out the door before anyone could say anything.

She preferred to walk to school, unlike Elena who always rode with Bonnie. Jeremy also hitched rides with some of his stoner friends, they offered her a ride few times but she always rejected them. She liked to walk past her parent's graves in the morning since that was the only time she wouldn't run into Elena there. She loved her sister to death, but sometimes she was a bit of a drag.

As she continued past the graveyard she pulled out her cell phone, checking the time. She had ten minutes to get to class and she was nearly fifteen minutes from school. She began to jog and arrived at the front doors of the school right before the warning bell rang. She took a deep breath and yanked open the door, preparing herself for all the pity she was about to get.

The first one to see her was Caroline. She had just gotten done hugging Elena when she spotted Amber. She rushed over to her and threw her arms around Amber's neck. Amber stumbled back, surprised by the force of her hug. Caroline had always been more of a friend to Amber than Elena so she wasn't shocked when she freaked out on her for not calling her all summer.

" It's so good to see you," She then slapped Amber's arm, "Now why haven't you called me all summer?" Amber smiled, Caroline always got straight to the point.

" I've been out of town actually. I went on a long hike through New England and just got back the other day. I'm still getting settled in." She shrugged, actually missing her best friend.

" Listen, I'll chew you out later, I've got a hottie to chase…" Caroline looked past Amber and she followed her eyes. A tall boy stood near the end of the hall, dressed from head to toe in black and leather, with combat boots similar to Amber's and aviators that hid his eyes. She watched as he walked past her and Caroline and straight into Elena.

Amber rolled her eyes, of course _she_ would immediately get his attention. But this year was going to be different. Elena's reign as queen was over, and Amber's was about to begin. She spun back to face Caroline, taking in her drooling expression over the new guy. Amber ignored it and walked away, heading for her first class of the day.

* * *

That night Amber was watching TV in the living room while Elena prepared to go out with Bonnie and Caroline. Usually, Amber would go with them, but she wasn't in the mood to meet up with friends. She was still settling in and didn't want to rush back into her old life.

" Don't be too late." Jenna called from the other room as Elena opened the door. She stopped in her place and smiled. Amber leaned over the sofa to get a glance of who was at the door. The new guy stood there, smiling sheepishly as he stuck his hands into his pockets.

" New guy!" Amber hopped off the couch and walked over to the door, she extended her hand to him and smiled flirtatiously as he took it.

" I'm Amber, Elena's older sister. I'm also senior class president." She spoke to the new guy as Elena went to get her jacket.

" I'm Stefan Salvatore, just moved back here to live with my uncle." He responded. Amber smiled and Elena walked back into the room. She looked at Stefan and was about to say something but he interrupted her.

" Would you like to join us?" He asked Amber, but she shook her head.

" Thanks, but I'm still settling in, just got back from a long hiking trip." She shrugged, turning to look at Elena.

" Have fun." Amber said before walking back over to the sofa and sitting down. She flipped through the channels until she noticed something familiar on the news channel. It was a story about an animal attack that had happened just on the outskirts of town. The two faces seemed somewhat familiar and she remembered seeing them that morning on the news.

" Hey Jenna, I think I'm gonna run out real quick. I'll be back in a couple hours." Amber hollered as she rushed out the front door. She started up her car and backed out of the driveway, planning on driving out to the road where those two bodies were discovered.

She drove through the dark, occasionally glancing behind her to check for any potential followers. She was always slightly paranoid, but something was drawing her out to that street. She had acquired a strange infatuation with mysteries over the summer and she was curious about the animal that could cause that much damage around Mystic Falls. The only animal she could think of was a wolf, but the way they described the bite marks sounded nothing like a wolf. When she pulled onto the road she was looking for she pulled over to the side of the road and parked her car.

She hopped out, grabbing the switchblade she kept with her for protection. She slipped a flashlight out from her bag and shined it on bright yellow tape that lined a small area of the woods, including the car of the victims. _That's odd_, she thought to herself as she approached the car. She ducked under the police tape and walked straight up to the car. She noticed a dent in the hood and a trail of blood that had flowed from whatever had been lying there.

Her curiosity took over as she thought back to books she had read about wolves. The dent on the hood could've only been caused by something being dropped from a decent height. The only things surrounding the area were trees. Last time she checked, wolves couldn't climb trees. With her curiosity satisfied she trotted back to her car and made a U-turn, heading back towards her house.

* * *

As she turned back into her driveway, a figure stood on her porch. She noticed Jenna's car was gone and sighed knowing that she would have to deal with whoever it was. She got out of her car, slamming the door behind her and slipping her keys into her pocket.

" Hey, what can I do for you?" Amber questioned as she stepped onto the porch. She felt her pulse quicken as she got her first look at the stranger on the porch. He was absolutely stunning, with his dark hair and sparkling brown eyes. He had a strong jaw and brooding features. He held a cocky smile on his face as he held out a hand to her. She took it and he smiled, shaking it.

" I'm Damon Salvatore, I just moved back here." His voice was sweet and Amber pulled her hand away as she went to unlock the door.

" Stefan's brother?" Amber asked, shoving the door open and throwing her keys into the key bowl.

" The one and only." He bowed and Amber chuckled, amused by his obvious charm.

" Well what can I do for you, Damon?" Amber gave him a questioning glance and he smiled. He took a step forward and stood right outside the doorframe, leaning against it.

" I just wanted to introduce myself, get to know the neighbors." He raised his eyebrow as he spoke, a flirtatious tinge in his voice.

" Well, maybe some other time, I've got things to do." Amber held onto the door, preparing to shut it. She waited until Damon nodded and turned to walk away before starting to close the door.

" I'll take you up on that offer." Damon hollered as he walked down the pathway. She heard the soft click of the door as it shut and smiled to herself.

* * *

The next night was the annual back to school party at The Falls of Mystic Falls. Amber went in a small group with Caroline and Bonnie. They were supposed to meet up with Elena at some point, and Elena was supposedly meeting Stefan there, but Amber didn't care too much about it. All she was worried about that night was how to assert herself as the popular girl. She would not fall short to Elena her last year in high school.

She needed three things in order to gain the status she desired. One was a perfect boyfriend that everyone loved, and she had her eyes set on Tyler Lockwood. He was the perfect stereotype jock, somewhat of a jerk, but he could play nice when necessary. The second thing she needed was to be captain of the cheer squad. That was easy, Caroline would be captain of the junior squad, and Amber could easily win the affection of the senior squad. The last thing she needed was for everyone to stop giving her pity for her parents' death. She knew what had happened and didn't need everyone reminding her from day to day.

As soon as she spotted Tyler, she was on the move. He had just emerged from the woods and appeared extremely annoyed. She was going to have to seem slightly drunk to get his attention. She yanked her white, somewhat sheer, t-shirt down so she showed more cleavage. She tousled her auburn hair and made her way towards Tyler, who was now holding a red solo cup.

" Hey Ty!" She slurred his name, although completely sober, she sounded slightly tipsy. It got his attention, he turned and smiled at her, his eyes drifting down to her chest for a few seconds before moving back up to meet hers.

" Amber, I haven't seen you all summer. How has my favorite cheerleader been?" He wrapped his arm around her and pulled her into a sideways hug. She could tell that it would be easy to seduce him, he was already wasted and all she needed now was some privacy.

" Why don't we go somewhere…quiet." She whispered into his ear, he let out a low whistle and she smiled. As they prepared to depart for the woods, a commotion erupted near the fire pit.

" Somebody help!" Elena's voice echoed over to her and Amber turned, her eyes widening as she noticed Vicki Donovan hanging in Jeremy's arms.

" Vicki… what the hell?" Matt's voice cracked as he rushed towards his unconscious sister. Tyler sprinted over to where Jeremy laid Vicki and the look on his face was full of concern.

" Someone call and ambulance!" He yelled, Amber whipped out her phone and called 911, answering the operator's questions as she stood by Elena and Jeremy.

* * *

The police showed up sometime later. Elena and Jeremy were talking over by the fire pit. Jeremy was still drinking and Amber understood why. She wanted to join them, but ever since she left for the summer, they were no longer close. Elena had gone her own way and Jeremy had become a stoner. She couldn't connect with them anymore and hoped that they would be able to become friends again soon. She turned away from them, stalking towards her car parked down towards The Falls. She hopped in and drove, driving until she was no longer aware of where she was.

She found herself at the Mystic Grille, but she never got out of her car. She just sat there, watching Caroline and Bonnie talking inside. She could tell that it would take more than just an apology to make it up to Caroline for not calling her all summer. She would start trying tomorrow. Instead of getting out of her car, she backed up, pulling out of the parking lot and heading for the hospital.

Matt was sitting in the room, holding onto Vicki's hand as she awoke. Amber was about to walk in when she heard Vicki mumble something. Her eyes widened and the scene of the animal attack came rushing back to her. The way the hood was dented, the way the blood had dripped onto the car as if from a height. The word that Vicki mumbled seemed to make sense to her. _Vampire_.


End file.
